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Sahar Shehadeh, a student of Durham College, Canada, recently made headlines after she supported Hamas and their October 7 attacks on Israel in a now-viral video.
Trigger warning: This article contains antisemitic and violent content about the Israel-Palestine conflict. Readers' discretion is advised.
In the 38-second clip, Sahar Shehadeh is seen wearing a white burqa and saying:
“I support Hamas. History was made that day. Very proud of my people. Very very proud. [I] would love it if they do it again.”
In fact, she went on to repeat the word “again” seven times to show her support for Hamas and later also gave them a “shoutout.”
Since the footage surfaced on the internet, it went on to earn severe backlash online, with netizens calling out her antisemitism.
Sahar Shehadeh is a student of advanced biotechnology at Durham College
According to Opoyi, Sahar Shehadeh is a student of advanced biotechnology at Durham College, in Oshawa, Ontario. She herself posted the original video on Instagram in “support” of Hamas on Saturday, November 18, which was later reposted on other social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter).
She added that she would appreciate it if the attacks (referring to October 7) happened more frequently.
“No, they are not terrorists. I support every decision. And you know what, what they did was history. Very proud. History was made that day…Shoutout to Hamas,” Sahar Shehadeh further added.
As soon as the video went viral, social media users united and put her under fire for her antisemitic and pro-terrorism remarks. Some even asked the college to expel her. Here are some of the reactions from the comment section of @StopAntisemites’ tweet on the same.
So far, Sahar Shehadeh has not commented on the backlash. However, As per Durham Region, the college she attends is aware of her actions and even issued a statement over the weekend on X. They condemned Shehadeh and wrote:
“DC [Durham College] is aware of a disturbing video of an alleged student making antisemitic comments in support of terrorism. Per our Student Conduct Policy, the Office of Campus Safety has contacted the individual and is taking all necessary actions, including working with the DRPS on this matter.”
For those uninitiated, DRPS refers to Durham Regional Police staff. The student has allegedly been reported to them by the college authorities as per Durham Region.
In their tweet chain, Durham College (DC) also added how they “unequivocally” denounced the “inflammatory statements” of the student and did not “tolerate antisemitism, islamoph*bia, or any form of hate, discrimination, or promotion of acts of violence.”
They further continued by saying how Durham College was welcoming, inclusive, and diverse and was “committed to non-violence and the safety and well-being of the DC community.
Meanwhile, according to DRPS’ sergeant Andre Wyatt’s statement to Durham Region, the matter was currently being investigated and they were “looking into the post and issues around that.”
On the morning of October 7, Palestine-based militant group Hamas launched an attack on Israel, claiming over 1,200 lives and taking hundreds of hostages. Within a few hours, Israel launched a counterattack and since then the Israel-Palestine conflict has been ongoing and has so far killed more than 12,000 Palestinians as per the UN humanitarian agency OCHA’s recent reports.
